Skateboarding, like any other sport, requires practice. The first thing to remember is that beginners should not put themselves in danger by following what the other pros are doing. Jumping over rails and stairs are for more advanced and skilled skaters. So what you may want to do first is to invest in a good board. Forget those you see in supermarkets or mall because they are too flimsy. When buying a board, go to a skate shop and try the cheapest a brand can offer or buy one on sale. This is essential since practicing even the basic tricks can chip-off a section of a poor quality board or even snap it.
Once you have a quality board, wear your pads and helmet since you will surely fall several times. Next is for you to figure out your stance. No one can really say what stance you should have, just find the most comfortable one and then roll with it whether it’s goofy or regular. Start slowly on a flat surface. Try it in straight lines first then you can shift your weight forward or backward to turn the board’s direction. And after several runs, you can now use your back foot to pivot the board on the back truck to turn it. The back foot is the one that is positioned on the tail. Remember to keep your weight centered all the time. This is important to avoid falling and getting injured.
Once you get comfortable riding the board, you can try practicing basic tricks like the Ollie and shuv-it. An Ollie is done by popping the tail and scooping the front foot up the grip tape to help it gain height then catching the tail with the back foot and rolling away. This trick is the most basic of all and a good Ollie can set you up to other tricks like kickflips, 180’s, grinds and more. A shuv-it is done by popping the tail to make the board do a 180 clockwise and then catching it. While it is better to practice tricks rolling, you can also try it stationary at first to avoid falling. And once you get these very basic tricks, you can now try them on obstacles like 2-3 steps of stairs or simply over another board. Remember, practice only what you can muster, don’t try ollieing a double set of stairs after you just learned to pop your board.
